Check out this John Woo-esque short film made to unveil a brand new IP from Square Enix London called Sleeping Dogs — a gritty crime thriller dealing with the Hong Kong Triads.

I strongly recommend watching the trailer before you read anymore (but note that it’s bloody and brutal, so keep the kids away). There’s a twist at the end that sets up a big plot point from the game.

Okay, watched it? Back with me? Let’s continue.

Sleeping Dogs puts you in the shoes of Wei Shen, a cop and talented fighter who’s given a difficult assignment: go undercover with the Triads to try and bring it down from the inside. As you saw in the trailer, it takes some doing, but he does earn the Triads’ trust. The game will build on this, placing the player in increasingly sticky situations that require tough moral choices and lightning-fast combat skills. Will Shen hold to his purpose, or will he get sucked too far into the world of the Triads?

You’ll be able to freely explore Hong Kong island, Grand Theft Auto style. Every spot, every landmark, every street corner or skyscraper building potentially offers some new mission or confrontation for you to deal with. Shen will engage in hand-to-hand martial arts, vehicle races through bustling city streets, and intense shoot-outs. Square Enix London is particularly excited about its new combat system, which it claims is much more intuitive than your standard fare, giving you access to bone-crunching moves that can be used against multiple enemies at one time.

In addition to guns and martial arts, you’ll also be able to take full advantage of the interactive environment around you, using anything and everything you see to your advantage. The developer cites examples such as circular saws, incinerators, refrigerator doors, and phone booths as just a few of the kinds of things you can use for defense and offense.

Sleeping Dogs is expected to drop later this year for PS3, Xbox 360, and PC. Take a look at the first screens from the game below. Then let us know what you think of Sleeping Dogs in the comment area.

This month, Eidos Montreal is giving us all an excuse to go back to Deus Ex: Human Revolution (which we’re crazy about, don’t'cha know) with a downloadable content pack called “The Missing Link.” In it, we find out exactly what Adam Jensen did during his missing three days between Shanghai and Panchaea. And from the looks of it, it wasn’t a vacation.

Here are a pair of walkthrough videos that Eidos Montreal (and Square Enix) posted that give you the flavor of what to expect. The big feature of the add-on pack is that early on, your augmentations are rendered useless, forcing you to rebuild them from scratch. It’s an excuse for the player to experiment with augmentations that maybe they didn’t use during the main game.

Don’t forget to watch the trailer above, too.

Deus Ex: Human Revolution

UPDATE: We have a winner! Our winner, selected via a random number generator, has been notified via Twitter. This contest is now closed to entries. Thank you to all who entered, and watch for our next contest soon!

It’s THE hot game of the moment, and it can be yours. Want to win a PlayStation 3 copy of Deus Ex: Human Revolution? Enter here. But hurry — entries are accepted over Labor Day Weekend only!

This is a “Tweet + Link” contest. To enter:

Step 1: Copy & paste the following, and Tweet it:

I just entered to win a copy of DEUS EX: HUMAN REVOLUTION from @geekforever! Enter here: http://spm.me/deusex #contests #deusex #windeusex

Step 2: Leave us a Comment on this page (below) to let us know you Tweeted, and paste the link to your Tweet in your Comment. (Note that our Comments are moderated, so it may not show up immediately after you click the “Post Comment” button.)

In case you don’t know how to find a Tweet’s individual URL, you can find it at Twitter.com. It’s the date just below your Tweet, as seen here:

1 winner will be selected at random from the Commenters at or around 8:pm EST on Labor Day: Monday, September 5th. Winners will be notified via Twitter, after which we’ll send your mailing address to the good folks at Diamond so they can send you your prize.

One last important thing: You can enter the contest once per day between now and the 5th — but no more. (That’s up to 23 total Tweets + Comments if you enter every day.) Enter more than once daily and all your entries will be disqualified. Gotta keep it fair.

Good luck!

Click on any image for a larger version.

Deus Ex: Human Revolution presskit by Square Enix

Looking inside...

First, the game.

Just like the retail version. Comes in a paper slipcase.

The back of the game box.

Inside the box: the PS3 disc and guidebook.

Inside the guidebook.

The perils of video game journalism. This is attached to a non-disclosure agreement, and a list of spoilers not to be revealed in reviews.

A DVD-ROM with screenshots, videos, and more for use by reviewers.

Press the trigger and the disc pops out.

What might be inside this plastic bag?

A close-up of the plastic bag.

Reverse side of the plastic bag.

Hmm...

Got to unfold it...

It's one of those athletic sleeves you see basketball players wearing. Printed to look like an "augmented" arm from the game. Very clever.

The sleeve on my arm.

Next, a "press book."

Inside the Press Book. Full color, nicely made. Includes all sorts of background info about the game. Note the fictional timeline at the bottom.

More from the Press Book interior.

It looks like the Press Book, but it's much thicker. It's the official "Review Guide."

The Review Guide is chocked full of information that's of use to reviewers. How the game was made, details about its features, etc.

The Review Guide is very nicely made, with full color illustrations and loads of info.

Overall, a very slick promotional package. I’m such a geek, I have to admit I got quite a thrill out of opening it! Watch for my full Deus Ex: Human Revolution review later this week.

JC Denton from 2000's 'Deus Ex', above; Adam Jensen from 2011's 'Deus Ex: Human Revolution', below

Deus Ex: Human Revolution arrives in stores next week. The original game came out in June of 2000, and what a difference 11 years makes!

That image above says it all, don’t you think? I have such fond memories of Deus Ex. The wonder of realizing I could play the game any way I wanted, the fascinating world of conspiracies and human augmentation… It was just a killer game that never disappointed. 2003 brought us Deus Ex: Invisible War — but that’s a game that’s largely been forgotten by the few who played it, because it “dumbed down” the PC gameplay for simultaneous release on consoles (which lacked the sophistication consoles enjoy today).

At long last, it looks like someone has picked up the legacy of Deus Ex, to deliver us a truly fantastic game. Every single preview and the earliest of reviews all indicate that Human Revolution is terrific, honoring the original game while updating it with modern sensibilities and technology. I can’t wait to get my hands on it, how about you?

Here’s another comparison that will no doubt make PC gamers smile — system specs for the PC versions. Just look at those specs for the first game! A 4MB video card? Ha!

DEUS EX (2000)

 300 MHz CPU

 64 MB RAM

 4 MB video card RAM

 150 MB hard disk space

 Windows 95

DEUS EX: HUMAN REVOLUTION (2011)

 2 Ghz dual core CPU

 2 GB RAM

 256 MB video card (approx.)

 8.5 GB hard disk space

 Windows XP

Deus Ex: Human Revolution cover artwork

Twenty-five years before the events of the first game, Deus Ex: Human Revolution tells the story of Adam Jensen, a security agent who’s critical injured and forced to undergo “Augmentation” in order to survive. In the future of the first game, augmentation was handled via nanotech, but at this point in time, augmentations are mechanical. So instead of an injection into your bloodstream, you get a whole new arm or leg or eyeball, for example, that’s essentially a machine. The events of this title will lead to the formation of the anti-terrorist organization UNATCO from the first game.

Like its predecessor, Human Revolution will give players freedom of choice as to how they progress through the game, using basic methods of combat, stealth, hacking, or social interaction. Every problem can be solved in one of these four methods, and you can switch between them at will.

North America gets its hands on the game on August 23rd, while it trickles down to the rest of the world in the next few days that follow. It will be available for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Windows. Take a look at the fantastic screenshots and concept art from the game below.

How many times has a new creative director taken the reins of the Tomb Raider franchise and promised to “rescue the franchise with a bold new take”? Square Enix-powered studio Crystal Dynamics (which is responsible for the last four Tomb Raider games, including the acclaimed downloadable title Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light) is the latest to try their hand at crafting a definitive, new Lara Croft experience. But for this reboot, it looks like the promise of “whole new thing” might actually be fitting.

Titled simply Tomb Raider, this latest incarnation of the iconic video game franchise is essentially a reinvention of Lara Croft herself. Crystal Dynamics’ Darrell Gallagher describes the new game as “an origins story that creates Lara Croft and takes her on a character-defining journey like no other.” The game finds a young, inexperienced Lara washed ashore on an unknown beach after the boat she was traveling on is destroyed by a storm. She’s not out to plunder artifacts or spelunk caves for monetary rewards; she just wants to survive. She’s got no help of any kind, but she’s far from alone in this strange new place.

As you can tell from the image above — which serves as the cover art of January’s Game Informer, who’s promising an exclusive reveal of the game with a ten-page feature — this is not your father’s Lara Croft. “Forget everything you knew about Tomb Raider,” says Gallagher. This younger Lara will “endure both physical and emotional trauma to survive.”

Little else is known about the new game, at least until Game Informer’s exclusive hits mailboxes and newsstands. Square Enix has set up a new website at www.tombraider.com, and you can also follow the news about the game on Twitter @TombRaider. GI is also planning lots of exclusive revelations about the game throughout this month at their new Tomb Raider Hub.

The New Logo

Follow @FGgamer on Twitter for the latest gaming news.

A special “Augmented Edition” of Deus Ex: Human Revolution will be available for $10 more when the game arrives in March of next year.

The added goodies in the Augmented Edition include a 40-page book filled with concept art, a making-of DVD, a “motion comic” graphic novel, and the game’s soundtrack disc. You get all this in special packaging, along with the full retail version of the game, of course.

Pre-order the game now, and you’ll get even more. Pre-orders at GameStop come with the “Explosive Mission Pack,” which includes a Linebacker G-87 multi-shot grenade launcher, an M-28 Utility Remote-Detonated Explosive Device, an autopick (fans of the first game will remember those), and a whole new mission to play through that Square Enix says includes a “cameo” appearance by a character from the original game.

Pre-orders at other retailers will get the “Tactical Enhancement Pack,” which includes a Huntsman Silverback Double-Barrel Shotgun, a Longsword Whisperhead Extreme Range Sniper Rifle, and credits that can be spent in-game.

What are your thoughts about Human Revolution? I was enthralled by the first game, so my curiosity is very piqued to see if a new publisher can pull off a similar — or better — prequel game that uses the dynamics of the original. But the golden-hued art direction leaves me scratching my head, and the fact that Deux Ex creator Warren Spector isn’t involved at all has me worried.

Still excited to get my hands on it, though. How about you?

For the first time ever, Lara Croft has shed her Tomb Raider moniker, and taken up residence in a game that’s only available as a download. Maybe even the most radical shift of all: Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light is not played from a third-person perspective. Instead, it’s “isometric,” which means you play from above, looking down at an angle.

And it turns out, this fresh new take on gaming’s most iconic female is exactly what the doctor ordered, because Guardian of Light absolutely cannot be missed.

Lara Croft’s latest adventure finds her doing what she does best — raiding tombs and taking out mystical baddies — but her tired formula has been replaced with something that holds that indefinable fun factor that keeps you coming back for more and more. And don’t let the fact that it’s a downloadable game deter you; the “fat” has been cut away to give you the tightest, most honed experience possible.

I could go over the story for you, but it’s ultimately beside the point, because the real focus here is on the perfectly-polished gameplay. And in another first for the series, Lara has herself a co-op playing ally named Totec that radically alters her typically lonely occupation into a blast of a side-by-side campaign. You and a friend can team up to play through the game’s fourteen levels, though only on your couch for now; an update is coming in late September that will enable online co-op. The single player game is a similar but decidedly different game, with unique features in the levels for both.

Crystal Dynamics has crafted a dazzling, detailed new world for Lara to explore, and you’ll want to explore every crevice and crack for power-ups and other findable goodies. The new isometric vantage point is a tremendous asset here, as Lara’s environment is filled with endless puzzles to solve and vicious creatures to fight. Fortunately, Lara herself is just as spry and handy-with-two-pistols as ever, and she gets a full arsenal of weaponry to boot. Everything from machine guns to flamethrowers and missile launchers are at your command, and finding those extra goodies hidden throughout the levels will help you unlock more cool new weapons to try out. There are also points to collect, and the better you play, the more weaponry you’ll gain access to as well.

Lara’s trademark dual pistols never run out of ammo, nor do her claymore remote-detonate bombs. Lara’s also given a javelin-like staff near the beginning of the game by Totec, which continually regenerates itself, giving her an infinite supply of these powerful, mystical spears. There are giant boulders to move, grappling hooks to swing on, platform triggers to activate, and jumping puzzles galore, but none of it ever feels trite or overdone. If anything, these puzzles offer a welcome respite from the sometimes endless waves of enemies Lara frequently has to blast her way through.

Speaking of which, many of the larger enemies themselves are remarkably fun to kill, as they tend to explode in creative ways upon death. Boss battles can be maddening but gives the player an extremely rewarding feeling, when you finally take down that monster that refuses to die. Kill enough enemies without taking any damage yourself and your power-up meter will fill. Once that happens, you’re rewarded with extras like health and ammo that automatically regenerate on their own.

Sure, it’s not perfect. Some of the gauntlet-runs you have to undertake are downright evil in difficulty, and occasionally you’ll go up against an enemy A.I. that has no interest in attacking you. But the game offers so many overwhelmingly positive features, I’m inclined to overlook these trifling issues. Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light is a blast, and the best reason yet for spending money on Xbox Live Arcade.

One last thing. It’s worth noting that Guardian of Light is a game that co-publishers Eidos and Square Enix are committed to supporting, with no less than five DLC add-on packs planned for release before Christmas.

But Square Enix’s attempt at creating mystery might be all for naught. Japanese magazine Weekly Shonen Jump may have actually jumped the gun on the company. Scans of the magazine showed Square Enix’s new game Four Warriors of Light: Final Fantasy Gaiden for the DS. The game will be a turn based RPG that will arrive this fall in Japan. The game will revolve around a 14 year old boy who has been tasked by a king to rescue a princess from a witch.

The gameplay will involve controlling a four-man squad of various roleplay types. The magazine also revealed that as characters gain and equip various weapons and armor, their appearance will also change.

There are no reports yet of whether the game will be released outside Japan.

The bad news is that it’s just going to be in Japan for the meantime.

Square Enix showed a new Final Fantasy XIII trailer during the Tokyo Game Show and the hints of a 2009 release was also mentioned there. But then only Japan will see this early release for the game. The US and Europe will have to wait until the second quarter of 2010 (at the earliest) for the English version of the game.

FF XIII will be a PS3 exclusive in Japan, but will be made available in both the PS3 and Xbox 360 internationally.

Some gamers are blaming the inclusion of the Xbox 360 in the platform release as the reason for the delay because of earlier news that Square Enix is just about to begin programming the game for the said console. No reason for blame-throwing though. It’s delayed and we can’t do anything about it anymore — unless of course you can read Kanji, Hiragana and Katakana.

Square Enix has announced that it will enter into a strategic partnership with Gas Powered Games that will lead to the creation of Supreme Commander 2, the sequel to Gas Powered Games’ large-scale real-time strategy game. The details are still sketchy about the partnership so we don’t know what role Square Enix will play in the creation of the game, the platforms it will be in, the game release date or even new features of the game.

I think this is unusual because we know that Square Enix deals with a vastly different set of game genres compared to Gas Powered Games. I know that Square Enix, just like other Japanese game makers are trying to create bigger presence in the Western market but this is still quite an unorthodox strategy. But it’s also quite interesting. I’d love to see how Supreme Commander 2 will look like — maybe we get to see Bahamut as an ultimate weapon.